Heavenly Encounter
by Love is Envy
Summary: Fifteen year old Liam Walker was an ordinary kid. He did things every kid did. Played sports, played guitar. He had the most uneventful life...that is, until one day his friend Rose didn't turn out to be what he thought she was.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I guess you could say I'm your everyday kid; I play an instrument like most guys, guitar of course. But I don't go around telling everyone I do. I keep that to myself. My life had been normal. Until after she came to me that day...

It happened about a week before the dance, I was at my locker getting my books when she came up to me, a walking angel. She came up to me and shoved something into my hand. I was dazed, was that who I thought it was? It was. It was the one girl I've had my eye on since the Third Grade. Why now? Why not before? Why, wait till 8th grade? So many questions raced through my mind, but there was one other thing...

Had this really happened?

I opened the note that she had put in my hand and I started to read it. The only thing on the paper was the date "4/11/99" I read it over and over looking on the front and back what had happened on April 11th 6 years ago? Was there something I overlooked? And then it hit me, it was the day she moved here. But what did it mean? I didn't get it.. I looked at the bell and panicked I had less then a minute to get to homeroom. I slammed my locker and ran to my class, sitting in my seat just as the bell rang. "Almost late again Mister Walker." My homeroom teacher said "I'm sorry Miss Johnson, my locker got jammed," I said thinking of a quick excuse. "Don't let it happen again." she replied.

After homeroom I walked to my first period class, Gym. I was never good at gym; I'm a very clumsy kid. Since second grade I've been the kid that everyone picked last. I was so bad at every sport I played, every sport but baseball. The bad thing is, we played baseball for only two weeks out of the whole year. In those weeks I was a star. But after, I was nothing.

"Liam! Hurry up!" My Gym Coach said as I hassled around the Gym trying to finish my laps. I never really was a runner, but the occasional time when I get a good time at running, no one noticed. It seems like the only time they do notice is when I do poorly. That didn't bother me much, until the day the names started coming. "Slug!" they would taunt, at first I didn't pay much attention to it. I knew I was slow but it didn't matter much to me.

Gym went by the slowest of all today, surprisingly enough, second through ninth periods went by like a blur. Before I knew it I was sitting there counting the seconds till the final bell rang and we were released. I could already see kids in the hallway from the bell just before. And then, I saw her. It was only for a brief moment when she walked by the classroom but it was enough to make my heart skip a beat. I was now on the corner of my seat, waiting for that bell. And then, RING RING RING. It chimed I was out the door before it finished chiming.

My eyes darted around the hallway searching for her. 'Where could she have gone?' I thought. And then I saw her, close to the end of the hall. "Rose! Rose!" I called wanting her to turn around. It never came, she just walked out the doors and away.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Umm, I'm not hungry mom! I'm just going to go to bed!" I said running up the stairs after finishing my homework. I searched my pockets looking for the note. There it was right where I left it. I opened it up, reading the date once more, "4/11/99". What could it mean? I decided to check in my yearbook to see if anything had happened that date, I found nothing.

I decided I was going to check through Google. I typed in "4/11/99, Greensboro" "Oh god, 300 hits, this will take forever." I thought. I skimmed through the list, its amazing how many different things happened that one day. "Wait what's this?" I said aloud to myself clicking the link. It sent me to a site that had pictures and text. I read

'On April 11th 1999, a severe car crash happened on I-88 just outside of Greensboro, North Carolina. Two dead, one injured. Pamela Jacobson, The sole survivor escaped with minor injuries to her arms and legs. Although her Husband and Daughter were killed in the crash. Rose, and Michael, The Daughter and Husband, Were buried in Greensboro Cemetery, just outside city limits.'

My head was spinning. How could that be? Did they make a mistake? Was it Pamela and Michael that died? How could Rose have died that day if I've seen her everyday since? I decided to call the school. They said they had no record of her ever being registered there. Was I going crazy? How would I approach this? How could I approach this? Walk up to someone and ask "Oh is Rose Jacobson a ghost?" No! I couldn't do that. I had to do something though.

The next day I decided to go looking for this Pamela Jacobson to question her about it. It was a Saturday so school didn't interfere with anything. I looked her up in the phonebook and saw that she lived only a few blocks from me. I ran downstairs telling my mom I was going out. "Is your cell phone charged?" She asked. I nodded in agreement and rushed out the door. I hopped on my bike and sped to 2265 Redvine Road. When I got there I stood in awe of the house that stood before me. It was beautiful the most magnificent thing I've ever seen. With its Cherry-Red shutters and its Lavender hue.

I ran to the door and rang the doorbell. On the other side I heard footsteps. An elegant young woman opened it and asked who I was. I said "Hello Ma'am, My names Liam Walker and I'm here to ask you a few questions for a school report." "Oh, do come in I'm always happy to help a student in need. Well, actually you're right about the age of my daughter." she said breathlessly. I walked in and casually asked who her daughter was. She told me " My daughter would have been your age, but," she paused wincing with pain "She died shortly after we came here." I was shocked I didn't even need to ask her any more questions. But to keep her from being suspicious I sat down and asked her a few. "Well Ma'am," I started but she interrupted, "Call me Pam." "Well, Pam," I started again "That's exactly what I came to ask you about. On the day you got into that car accident, your husband and your daughter died correct?" She nodded sadly. "Well, I was wondering, was there anything? Well, suspicious, about the accident?" "No," she said "No, I don't recall anything" "Thank you for your time Ma'am," "Call me Pam," She interrupted again "Pam, sorry, Thank you for your time Pam, but my mother expects me back soon." I dashed out of the door and hopped on my bike with no intention of going home.

I raced along Redvine onto Cherry Crest, heading straight for the library. I was going to look up in the newspapers to learn all I could on this accident. When I got there I asked the librarian where they kept the old Town Newspapers. She pointed to the back non-chalantly and went back to reading her novel. I chuckled at her, fore I knew that she had probably read that book twice by now. Mrs. Cherub had run this library ever since I was born and every time I came in (which was more often then expected) she had her nose in a different novel.

I sprinted to the back and found the Newspapers with great ease. They were clearly marked as the row of 15 file cabinets. I groaned in seeing that they were hardly organized. Searching through the files I found that they were actually organized by date. I found my way to the 99's and found April 11th, "Thank god it was a Sunday," I thought. Reading through I saw that the main article on page three was about the accident. It read almost the exact same thing as the website. There was only one minor detail different. It said Rose was cremated instead of buried in the Greensboro Cemetery.

"Why would the website say different?" I wondered aloud. "That's because no one wanted people to know." A voice behind me said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I whipped around in my chair searching the shadows for the source of the voice. "Calm down now young one, it's just me." Mrs. Cherub stood not too far from the edge of the bookshelves beaming at me." W-what do you mean no one wanted people to know? Wanted people to know what?" Mrs. Cherub looked away cautiously. "Well, no one wanted people to know she was cremated, they wanted people to think she was buried in the City Cemetery." "But, Why?" "Well, Mrs. Jacobson wanted to have people not bother her about the ashes like 'where she was going to put them,' or 'Would she spread them in the ocean?'. She wanted it to be sacred, safe." "But, I don't get it." I said in anguish, "Well that's because you are but a child. I suggest asking Mrs. Jacobson, she lives not too far from he-" She was cut-off. I was out the door before she could finish talking.

I sped my bike down Cherry Crest and down to Redvine Right to her house. I ran up to the beautifully made door but stopped before knocking. Something was different, what had it been? I turned around and saw that there was now a swing in the front yard and a girl was swinging on it. I recognized her to be Rose. "Hey! Rose!" I bellowed as she looked up, "Hey, I missed you at school." I said casually wanting to just talk to her conversationally before I asked her what was going on. "I didn't see you." she whispered. A sudden impulse made me walk up and grab her hand. I held it for a few moments before gasping and pulling my hand back, it was as cold as ice. "Rose, please tell me what is going on."

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that. I was hoping you wouldn't pay attention to what I put on there. They made me do it." she whimpered. My mind was racing, "Who? Who made you give me that?" "Them." she said pointing towards the sky. I didn't get it, why point up? What was she trying to say? I looked back down to further interrogate her about it. But when I looked she was missing. Where could she have gone so fast?

I found myself racing home. It was already getting late. I looked at my watch and though 'Damnit!' I was twenty minutes late. I started planning on the excuse I would use to get past the fact I was late. I ran into the house at half past eight to find my parents gone and a note on the 'fridge.

'Liam, Dinner Is In The Fridge. Me and Your Father Have Gone Out To Eat For Our Anniversary. Love You,

Mom'

My mind was numb, it was there anniversary? I totally forgot! No wonder my mom looked depressed when she heard I was going out. I had to find a way to make it up to them. I started brainstorming ideas of what to do. And I decided to clean.

After I was done with the kitchen I started on my Father's office. While inside I was cleaning his drawers when I found a cut-out newspaper clipping entitled 'The Dead Walk?' Interested I started to read.

' Seventeen-Year-Old Jacob Newsberry and his girlfriend Aimee Castle say they saw (now to be 14) year old Rose Jacobson wandering about the Greensboro Junior High grounds late on Friday night. "She walked like she wasn't even touching the ground Sir. It was like she was floating'" Newsberry says. Deputy John Elrond says he found no sign of the girl anywhere on the premisis but he brought in extra units to further investigate the area. "It's most likely we wont be done 'till Tuesday afternoon so the children won't have to come to school Monday" '

My heart skipped a beat "YES! No school!" I thought, then returning to the clipping.

'It is said to have happened before around the Greensboro Area. Sightings of a young girl in a red blouse and grey jeans seen to be wandering around late at night.'

What could this mean? I had no idea.. I was so confused, what had Rose meant 'They' made her do it? What was this about the sightings? Why hadn't he heard about it before? I realized I couldn't do anything further until I questioned her mother and/or found Rose and talked to her more about it.


End file.
